Paul Manafort didn't only ghost-write portions of a controversial op-ed about himself, he also excised details about his work for the former Russia-aligned president of Ukraine that he felt” would not be good to mention ,” according to email from Manafort that was unsealed in a court document on Monday.
The op-ed was intended to appear under the byline of Oleg Voloshin, a former spokesman for Ukraine's foreign affairs ministry. Last week special counsel Robert Mueller argued that Manafort had substantially authored or re-written portions of the piece, and has consequently infringed a gag order in his criminal case. Manafort denied the charge.
The newly-unsealed e-mail chain is between Manafort and Konstan Kilimnik, who sent Manafort the op-ed draft for further consideration and commentary. Kilimnik is longtime associate of Manafort who worked with him to support pro-Russia political figures in Ukraine.
” I have attached a framework for the op-ed in the Kyiv Post for Oleg ,” Manafort wrote back on November 29.” It maintains his approach but takes out pieces that would not be good to mention .”
” You will notice that I left several areas where you need to insert points ,” Manafort added.” I am available to talk either tonight or in the morning .”
A red-lined draft is connected to the e-mail shows Manafort excised entire paragraph, including one that mentioned he” had an ear of the chairman on a more regular basis than even some his ministers .” The “president” in this case is former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, who Manafort served as a political consultant before Yanukovych was ousted over corruption and policies friendly to Moscow.
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